Press Release - "We don't have a moment to spare, nor do we have a life to spare:" Vice President Harris Calls on Congress to Restore the Assault Weapons Ban in Wake of Illinois Supreme Court Ruling

"We need elected leaders to have the courage to act…we need to renew the assault weapons ban," said the Vice President while headlining Everytown's national conference as part of her travel to 17 states this summerCHICAGO – Today, Vice President Kamala Harris called on Congress to restore the assault weapons ban while headlining Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund's national Gun Sense University conference. The Vice President's remarks during a moderated conversation in front of thousands of Moms Demand Action members, Students Demand Action volunteers, and survivors of gun violence from across the country came just hours after the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on semiautomatic weapons.

"So much of this issue can be addressed by commonsense, reasonable gun safety laws, but we need elected leaders to have the courage to act," said Vice President Harris. "We need to renew the assault weapons ban, we need red flag laws, we need universal background checks…It is reasonable to say that a weapon of war, a weapon that was literally designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly, has no place on the streets of a civil society…we don't have a moment to spare, nor do we have a life to spare on this issue."

Vice President Harris also highlighted the Biden-Harris administration's progress on advancing commonsense gun safety policies, and discussed their commitment to reducing gun violence at a time when guns are the leading cause of death for children in America. Last year, she fought alongside President Biden to successfully enact the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in three decades. In May, the administration announced more than a dozen additional actions to reduce gun violence.

"We are proud – President Biden and I, and our administration – that we were able to push forward and help pass the first meaningful gun safety legislation in 30 years," said Vice President Harris. "We still have so much more to do, and again, that is about universal background checks, that is about the assault weapons ban."

The Vice President closed today's event by praising the nonstop work of organizers, and specifically called on young people to continue leading efforts to end gun violence. "It's because of your activism that we then had momentum on the inside to pass this historic legislation," said Vice President Harris. "Your generation is critical…you are critical to this issue, we are counting on you, we need you."

Today's conversation – moderated by Moms Demand Action Executive Director Angela Ferrell-Zabala and Emmy-nominated Actor Jason George – is a continuation of the Vice President's whirlwind of travel in which she is holding a blitz of large-scale events with key constituencies throughout the nation. She has traveled to 17 states this summer while leading the fight for fundamental freedoms – from reproductive freedom and the freedom to live safe from gun violence, to the freedom to vote and the freedom to learn and teach America's full history.

Read more about today's event below:

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Chicago Sun-Times: Vice President Harris tells young activists in Chicago they can end gun violence

Chicago Tribune: VP Kamala Harris touts gun control record while in Chicago

Chicago Sun-Times: Wooing Gen Z – Behind the scenes, how VP Kamala Harris is pushing to turn out the youth vote

NBC 5 Chicago: Watch: VP Kamala Harris returns to Chicago Friday for gun safety conference